Banknote Billet France 1 franc 1915

Remarks:

Annulé par 4 petits trous

This 1 franc note was issued by the Chambre de Commerce de Nevers on 12 November 1915, in the midst of the First World War. This type of issue arose from a particular economic context in which the shortage of metallic currency ? due notably to hoarding and military needs ? forced many French chambers of commerce to produce their own local fiduciary currency in order to compensate for the lack of money in circulation.

These emergency notes, issued by local institutions such as chambers of commerce, were valid within a limited geographical area and helped to maintain commercial exchanges at the local level. The Chambre de Commerce de Nevers, the prefecture of the Nièvre department, was thus one of the many bodies authorised to issue this type of supplementary paper money during the conflict.

This note bears the mention « Annulé » (Cancelled), indicating that it was officially withdrawn from circulation and invalidated by the issuing authority. This annotation, generally applied by perforation, stamp or overprint, reflects the administrative procedure by which a note is definitively taken out of circulation. Cancelled notes are of particular interest to collectors, as they attest to having passed through the official monetary management circuits.

In terms of physical characteristics, this note has a weight of 1 gram, which is consistent with the small-format notes issued at that time by French chambers of commerce. These documents are today considered historical and numismatic records of the first order, illustrating the economic adaptation mechanisms put in place in France during the First World War.